Take A Stand Against Sitting Down

Here’s what too much time in a chair can do to your body – even though you run – and how you can stay healthy

Leave your seat and get moving to benefit body and mind

HOW BAD IS SITTING, REALLY?

Not as bad as smoking, obviously, but fairly bad, over time. As with most unwise habits, it depends on how and how much you do it, and what you do to counter it. Occasional days when your activity tracker doesn’t crack 1,000 steps, much less 10,000, are no big deal. But many of us spend day after day behind the wheel, then in an office chair, in a kitchen chair and on the sofa. The result? Conditions related to sedentary behaviour may kill more people than tobacco, says Dr David Alter, chair of cardiovascular and metabolic research at the UHN Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Canada.

As a runner, you’re probably sitting fairly comfortably. Surely we needn’t stress about the harms of sedentary living? Well, not so fast. Research shows that people who spend many hours of the day glued to their seats die earlier than those who sit less – even if those sitters exercise.

It’s not so much the act of sitting that’s dangerous. The problem is lack of movement. ‘The absence of muscle activity has all these adverse metabolic effects,’ says Alter, influencing how your body processes sugar, hormone and mitochondrial functioning, heart disease risk and more, all of which have a far-reaching impact on your long-term health. Basically, your body needs to move – often – to work optimally. So what to do? Walk around for a few minutes, then read on.

Back and neck pain

Just four hours of sitting can compress a key disc in your lower back, putting you at risk of back problems and pain, says Dr Gregory Billy, associate professor of orthopaedics and rehabilitation at Penn State University, US. Poor posture can also lead to disc problems in your neck.

Cancer

The risk of colon and endometrial cancer goes up even after accounting for exercise, possibly due to inflammation, weight gain and other changes.

One review in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that for every additional two hours per day spent sitting, risk jumps by eight and 10 per cent for colon cancer and endometrial cancer, respectively.

Depression and anxiety

The more you sit at work, the greater your risk, even if you exercise, according to a study published in Mental Health and Physical Activity. On the flip side, other research shows that the more people move throughout the day, the happier they are.

Weak bones

Weight-bearing exercise, including standing, walking and running, stresses your skeleton in a good way, signalling specialised cells to replace old bone tissue with new. When you sit too much, the body replaces less of what it loses, leading to fragile bones and a greater risk of osteoporosis, especially as you get older.

Obesity, diabetes and heart trouble

Yes, you burn fewer calories. But also, the hormone insulin’s ability to move glucose out of blood and into cells may decline when you sit for long periods, says Alter. Cholesterol and markers of inflammation may go up; how you metabolise fat changes; and vascular function may also be reduced. Research shows this can almost double your risk of diabetes and your chances of developing cardiovascular disease rise by 14 per cent.

Blood clots

Slow blood flow in the legs from a sedentary lifestyle, possibly along with lower levels of clot-preventing proteins, increases your risk of a clot, according to a study in the British Medical Journal. Women who sat the most (more than 40 hours per week) had more than double the risk of a clot moving to their lungs compared with those who sat for less than 10 hours a week.